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The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) are standardized, parent-completed report forms designed to assess language and communication skills in young children ages 8 months to 37 months. These checklists yield reliable information on the course of language development from children's first nonverbal gestures and early signs of comprehension to the expansion of vocabulary and the early stages of grammar, describe L. Fenson and colleagues.

The CDIs benefit from the parents' unique knowledge of their child's communicative skills. Accuracy of parental input is enhanced greatly by relying on recognition memory for specific, current information (e.g., have you heard your child say green), avoiding retrospective accounts or use of recall memory (e.g., what words for color have you heard your child say). Parent report often serves as an ...